El presente del indicativo
(Present Indicative)

The present indicative* tense is used similarly in Spanish and in English. The main difference is that the present tense is often used in Spanish when one would use the present progressive tense in English. So while one might say, in English, "I am studying Spanish", in Spanish one would be more likely to simply say "Estudio español".

Below are the forms of the present indicative tense for regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs. Because the "vosotros" form is used only in Spain, it is included in parentheses.

*the word "indicative" is used here to distinguish this form from the present subjunctive.

Present Indicative: Regular -AR verbs
DESCANSAR: to rest
yo descanso nosotros descansamos
tú descansas (vosotros descansáis)
él/ella/Ud. descansa ellos/ellas/Uds. descansan

 

Present Indicative: Regular -ER verbs
COMPRENDER: to understand
yo comprendo nosotros comprendemos
tú comprendes (vosotros comprendéis)
él/ella/Ud. comprende ellos/ellas/Uds. comprenden

 

Present Indicative: Regular -IR verbs
AÑADIR: to add
yo añado nosotros añadimos
tú añades (vosotros añadís)
él/ella/Ud. añade ellos/ellas/Uds. añaden

 

Notes

1. Many verbs have irregular "yo" forms in the present tense. These include:

tener
tengo
estar
estoy
venir
vengo
ser
soy
salir
salgo
dar
doy
traer
traigo
ir
voy
oir
oigo
saber
hacer
hago
conocer
conozco
poner
pongo
pertenecer
pertenezco
caer
caigo
conducir
conduzco

2. There is a large group of verbs whose stem vowels change when conjugated in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. It is always the stressed vowel that changes. There are three groups of "stem-changing" verbs. The first has an e that changes to ie, and this is the largest of the three groups. An example is empezar:

yo empiezo nosotros empezamos
tú empiezas (vosotros empezáis)
ella empieza ellos empiezan

The second group has an e that changes to i, as in conseguir:

yo consigo nosotros conseguimos
tú consigues (vosotros conseguís)
Ud. consigue ellas consiguen

The third group has an o that changes to ue, as in soñar:

yo sueño nosotros soñamos
tú sueñas (vosotros soñáis)
él sueña Uds. sueñan

3. There are also verbs that have spelling alternations in the present tense, such as conseguir above. These alternations are necessary to accurately represent the pronunciation of the words. The three most common spelling alternations in the present tense are between g/j, g/gu, and c/z. An example of the g/j alternation is found in the conjugation of proteger "to protect":

yo protejo nosotros protegemos
tú proteges (vosotros protegéis)
ella protege ellos protegen

The g/gu alternation is found with seguir:

yo sigo nosotros seguimos
tú sigues (vosotros seguís)
Ud. sigue ellas siguen

The c/z alternation is found with convencer:

yo convenzo nosotros convencemos
tú convences (vosotros convencéis)
él convence Uds. convencen

The final spelling variation comes from a general rule that prohibits 3 consecutive vowels in Spanish. That means that when an i ends up between two other vowels, it becomes a y. This spelling rule applies in the present tense forms of verbs ending in -uir and -oir. The verb contribuir is one example:

yo contribuyo nosotros contribuimos
tú contribuyes (vosotros contribuís)
ella contribuye ellos contribuyen

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